Impact of Fuel Consumption by Traffic on the CO₂ Balance of Pavements

Abstract

Pavement–vehicle interaction affects vehicle fuel consumption, and reducing fuel consumption lowers CO₂ emissions. Therefore, replacing asphalt pavements, which result in greater vehicle fuel consumption, with concrete or composite pavements when repairing pavement may reduce CO₂ emissions for vehicle driving. This paper proposes a calculation method for CO₂ emissions considering fuel consumption reduction by pavement–vehicle interaction and evaluate the difference in environmental impact among pavement types. We consider the reduction in CO₂ emissions from cars as an environmental contribution by concrete or composite pavement, and we propose an evaluation method to introduce the reduction into the calculation of CO₂ emissions throughout the life cycle of the pavement. We also introduce the effect of environmental temperature on CO₂ emission reductions into the evaluation method. The results show that concrete and composite pavements have higher CO₂ emissions than asphalt pavements throughout the life cycle of the pavement. Nevertheless, the reduction in CO₂ emissions owing to the lesser fuel consumption by cars in concrete and composite pavements is significant, and CO₂ emissions of concrete and composite pavements, including the effect of reduced fuel consumption, may be less than CO₂ emissions of asphalt pavements, especially in cold areas.